


It's Been a Hard Day's Night

by smiley_seulgi



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 14:52:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16042697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smiley_seulgi/pseuds/smiley_seulgi
Summary: Everything starts piling on top of Twice with all the comebacks, promotions, and concerts but at the end of another long, tiring day, Dahyun knows she can handle everything life as an idol throws her way as long as she has Sana.





	It's Been a Hard Day's Night

  
  
  


“How long can we keep going on like this?” Sana murmured, her fingers gently carding through Dahyun’s silky black locks. All nine of them were milling about one of the practice rooms of the JYP building, lounging around on the floor or taking gulps of ice water as they took a brief break from rehearsing.

She and Dahyun were huddled up in one of the far corners of the room, Sana leaning back against the wall. Dahyun’s eyes were closed, her head resting on the older woman’s lap. Strands of her jet black hair stuck to her forehead and she was still breathing rather heavily from the new choreography they were learning.

Despite her exhaustion, the younger woman still managed to hear the quiet desperation of Sana’s voice, sending a wave of alarm to rush over her. After knowing Sana for the past three years, Dahyun had rare ever heard the other woman sound so dejected before.

Flicking her eyes open, Dahyun gazed up at the older woman with a hazy, transfixed look. She took in the Japanese woman’s flawless features, fighting the urge to reach up with her hand and trace the lines that made up her face. She was so beautiful, so _goddamn_ beautiful. Even with the dark circles underneath her eyes and her lopsided specs falling down the bridge of her nose, nothing could mask her beauty.

As if reading Dahyun’s mind, Sana gently cupped the side of Dahyun’s cheek, thumb rubbing circles into the tender skin just above the younger woman’s cheekbones. “Sometimes I feel like we’re falling apart,” Sana whispered, biting her lip. It looked as if she were fighting back tears, her eyes sparkling beneath the room lights.

“One by one. Just _look_ at us, Dahyun-ah.” Sana gestured out to the room with her free hand, shaking her head. “I am looking,” Dahyun murmured, unable to shake herself away from staring at Sana. The Japanese woman rolled her eyes, letting out a small giggle. “Not just at _me_ , silly,” she said, giving Dahyun’s arm a gentle push.

A blush was lighting up her cheeks. “Go on,” Sana muttered, nodding towards the other side of the room. “Take a gander and tell me nothing’s wrong with this picture.” Obliging to the older woman’s request, Dahyun propped herself up on one elbow, lifting her head up to scan her surroundings.

Nayeon was leaning up against the water dispenser machine, water bottle in hand. There was a vacant look in her eyes as she fanned herself and took sip after sip of the cooling liquid. Her face was pale with exertion, as if she would fall to her knees any moment. Dahyun frowned.

Beside Nayeon, Jeongyeon was sitting on the floor next to all of their bags, head held in her hands. A moment later, Nayeon bent down and rested a hand on her back, running her fingers over the material of Jeongyeon’s shirt. When the blond haired woman finally lifted her face, a grateful expression plastered across her chiseled features as Nayeon passed her the water bottle.

Just a few feet away from where Dahyun and Sana were, Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were huddled up on the middle of the floor, using balled up sweatshirts and jackets for pillows. Tzuyu had one arm slung over Chaeyoung’s waist, holding the shorter girl in place protectively. Both of their eyes were closed, their chests rising and falling in sync, fast asleep.

Momo was dancing off to the side, still rehearsing the steps to the choreography for their next comeback, _Dance the Night Away_. A trickle of sweat ran down her neck, and although each of her movements were slowing down with fatigue, Momo kept at it. She only stopped once Jihyo came up behind her, put her hands on her shoulders, and whispered something into her ear.

Nodding her head along to whatever Jihyo was saying, Momo straightened and headed over to where Mina and Jihyo had been sitting on the couch, munching on snacks. Wordlessly, Mina patted the cushion beside her and the dancer all but collapsed onto it, nuzzling her face against the fabric of Mina’s t-shirt.

Jihyo followed suit, flopping back down on the sofa with a sigh, watching as Mina wrapped an arm around Momo’s fallen figure. Their leader leaned her head against the back of the couch cushion, a hand coming up to massage her temples. Dahyun watched as Mina leaned over and whispered something into Momo’s ear that sounded a whole lot like, “You’ve been doing so well, my dancing machine…rest now,” but she couldn’t have been sure.

Momo responded by snaking her arms around Mina’s waist, burrowing her face deeper into Mina’s neck. As if sensing being watched Mina looked up, meeting Dahyun’s curious gaze. A soft, tired smile twitched at the Japanese woman’s lips before her attention returned to Momo, dragging her fingertips over the dancer’s arms in a soothing manner.

“See?” Sana breathed, leaning her head against the wall. “We’re all a mess.” Before Dahyun could think up of a reply, the door to the practice room opened and their manager strode in.

“Good work today, ladies!” Sadness Manager said, clapping her hands together. She looked around the room but her enthusiastic expression quickly faded.

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung jerked awake at the sound, leering up from the floor with wary looks. “You’ve done so well with learning the choreography that we’ve decided to let you guys go home early and rest,” their manager smiled, trying to pump some energy back into them. Everyone gave her a dazed look, too tired to even reply.

“The car’s waiting out front whenever you’re ready.” With that being said, their manager turned on her heel and walked out of the room. The door gently clicked shut behind her, and it was as if the spell of exhaustion had been broken. Nayeon was the first to stand, releasing her hold on Jeongyeon to reach for their bags.

Jihyo pushed herself up off of the couch with a soft groan, rubbing at her sore calf muscles. “Come on girls,” the leader said, slowly making her way over to where Tzuyu and Chaeyoung had laid back down. Once she reached them, she prodded the pair with the tip of her shoe until they sat up. “The sooner we get down there, the sooner we’ll be able to fall asleep in our own beds.”

Before their leader could walk over to them, Dahyun forced herself up from Sana’s lap, missing the sensation of the older woman’s fingers gently moving through her hair. Following suit, Sana stood and made her way over to the pile of their bags, Dahyun slowly trailing behind.

As she dragged her feet, Dahyun noticed the way Mina attempted to coax Momo off of the sofa. She was whispering Japanese into Momo’s ears while caressing the hand encircled around her waist. She gently tugged at the dancer’s fingers to gently pry her off and tried to hide the smile spreading across her face when Momo held her closer instead of getting up.

The moment seemed strikingly intimate to her, and Dahyun quickly averted her eyes. She couldn’t explain why but looking at them, she had felt as if she were intruding on something she shouldn’t have been. For a moment, she feels a tug at her heart, longful to be with Sana in the same sense. Maybe she should’ve stayed in Sana’s lap a second longer.

When Dahyun finally reached Sana’s side, the older woman had already collected their things. She held out Dahyun’s bag for her, and then, once Dahyun had slung the bag over her shoulders, reached out her hand expectantly. At this heartwarming gesture, Dahyun gave Sana her best attempt at a smile before taking Sana’s hand in her own, intertwining their fingers together.

She allowed Sana to pull her towards the door, where Jihyo was waiting, watching them closely. The three of them were the last to leave, the other girls having trickled out of the practice room in pairs. Jeongyeon and Nayeon first, arm in arm. Then Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, after being rudely awakened. After them came Momo and Mina, with Mina propping the older woman up on her shoulder as they passed through the threshold.

Jihyo flashed them a smile and stepped out of the room first, following after Momo and Mina. As they walked down the hallways of the building, silence enveloped them. Dahyun’s eyelashes were heavy, her feet were dragging. She knew Sana had a point earlier.

The nine of them were constantly being pushed to their limits. Even during their current promotions, they were preparing for future comebacks, being briefed on the choreography and the concepts to come. Promoting was one of the hardest moments in an idol’s life.

It meant days where Dahyun was too tired to even remember where she was going, what she was getting ready for, where they were flying to next. Her body ached with sore muscles from performing on music shows day after day while bags consistently grew beneath her eyes as each day meant less and less hours of sleep from waking up before the crack of dawn to prepare for them.

It was hard, grueling work sometimes. Half the time. Perhaps most of the time, if Dahyun’s being brutally honest. But their fans made it all worthwhile. The stress and fatigue melted away whenever she caught sight of fans supporting them. Whether it be at their music shows or fan signs, or even on the streets of Seoul, it made all the hardship worth it.

Yet as Sana helped her up into the van, a hand pressed firmly against the small of her back as she guided Dahyun towards the door, Dahyun couldn’t help but wish for some sort of break. She could hardly feel her legs as she threw herself into the nearest empty seat and sprawled out against it. Sana slips easily into the seat beside her and slides the van door shut, prompting their manager to peel the vehicle away from the JYP building.

With the gentle rocking of the vehicle, Dahyun finds herself drifting off in her chair. “Dahyun-ah,” the Japanese woman murmurs, her low voice lulling Dahyun further into her sleep filled daze.

“Hm?” Dahyun’s eyes are fluttering shut. She wants nothing more than to fall asleep, fall into Sana’s arms and just lie there for a decade or two.

“Your seatbelt,” Sana says. “Hm.” There’s a pause of silence, and though Dahyun can feel Sana’s piercing gaze trained on the side of her face, she remains motionless. “Dahyun.”

Sana’s voice seems far away, and Dahyun wasn’t even sure if she could lift her head at this point. She could feel herself sinking further and further away, deep into the realm of dreams, when it happened.

There came a faint gust of wind over her, and it carried the faint scent of Sana’s Prada perfume. A shadow loomed before and someone pressed against her briefly, front flush against front. The contact caused Dahyun’s eyes to fly open, and she was met with the sight of Sana’s straining neck as the older woman reached over to pull Dahyun’s seatbelt down towards the buckle.

With half lidded eyes, she regarded Sana, who in turn noticed her staring with a smug expression on her face. Just as the Japanese woman began to pull away, Dahyun reached a hand out and brushed against her hip, trying to move her closer again.

“Not here, silly,” Sana whispered, clearly bemused at Dahyun’s actions. The older woman glances around them, trying to see if anyone had seen them. There’s a rosy bloom coating her cheeks at Sana’s quiet reprimand but she still doesn’t loosen her hold.

“ _Later_. When we’re _home._ ” The Japanese woman smoothly untangles herself from Dahyun’s hold and retreats to her seat, buckling herself into her seat in one swift motion. Too tired to protest, Dahyun merely shuts her eyes and allows sleep to drag her back down again, trying to ignore the way the warmth that Sana had radiated was fading from her.

The jarring halt of the van startles her awake, much to her dismay. Her eyes sting from her contacts and her body seems to fight against her as she unbuckles herself. She steps out of the van with her bag and onto the pavement of the underground parking garage of their dormitory.

Bright fluorescent lights blinded her the moment her shoes connected with the concrete. “Over here,” Sana murmurs, and Dahyun follows the sound of her voice until a hand reaches out and grabs her arm. “Elevator’s this way,” the older woman says, guiding Dahyun over. A group of them rides up in the elevator on the left and the other on the right.

Dahyun leans her head on Sana’s shoulder as they wait for their floor, steadying herself on the Japanese woman’s strength. A few moments later, the nine of them meet back up on their floor and flood into the dorm. With hardly a word spoken between each other, they file into their shared rooms and start getting ready for bed.

By now, the nine of them had settled into a weekly schedule for showers and bathroom times. Dahyun was sixth in the lineup today, and this knowledge was enough to jar her awake a little more. Sana let go of her as they trudged through the living room, allowing Dahyun to scramble into her room and snatch up a set of pajamas from her wardrobe.

Just as she’d turned the doorknob to the closest bathroom, Sana appeared over her shoulder, seemingly materializing out of thin air. “Are you sure you don’t want me to join you, Dahyunnie?” She teases, leaning against the door and barring the way completely.

Dahyun rolls her eyes and pries Sana from the door, hastily making her way inside the room before the Japanese woman sees the wildfire rushing across her fair cheeks.

Three years had given Dahyun enough time to remain comfortable enough to waltz into Sana’s room after she’s finished washing up. Oddly enough, Jeongyeon’s bed is empty, but Dahyun’s much too tired to question where Sana’s roommate is. It’s not too big of a stretch for Jeongyeon to be in Nayeon’s room, where she slept as much as she could to fend off her nightmares.

Feeling the exhaustion from the day’s events rushing back up over her, Dahyun collapses onto Sana’s bed, a soft huff escaping from her mouth. She splays all of her limbs out across the soft comforter, head buried in the pillows displayed on Sana’s bed. Before she can truly get comfortable, the bedroom door clicks shut a few minutes later and Dahyun props herself up to see who it is.

Sana, hair still dripping from her shower, beams lazily at her from across the room. Her white V-neck is still dotted with water droplets and she holds a towel in one hand. She doesn’t look the least surprised to have the younger woman waiting for her. “Hi,” Dahyun offers, slumping back over onto the far side of the bed.

“Hey yourself,” Sana replies, drying her hair a little bit before hanging the towel in her closet. “Where’s Jeong-unnie?” Dahyun asks, watching Sana move around the room with her head propped up. There was a comfortable silence between them, coupled with a nervous jittering that always washed over her when it came to Sana.

She felt hypnotized all over again, watching Sana sort out her wardrobe for tomorrow’s music show appearance. “Nayeon-unnie’s room,” was the simple reply before the room became awash in silence once more. Sana had only just laid out half of an outfit when Dahyun found herself unwilling to doze off without the other woman by her side.

“Unnie?” Sana hummed, debating between adding a necklace or a bracelet to her outfit. She was lifting two particularly beautiful gifts she’d received from fans up, pouting cutely as she looked between the two of them with a puzzled expression. Dahyun glanced at her phone, already plugged into the wall by Sana’s bed. It was half past one in the morning.

“Please come to bed. We’ve gotta get up in a couple hours, anyways.” She hears Sana sigh as she sets the jewelry back down on top of her dresser. She makes sure to fold her clothes neatly before stacking them on top of her dresser again. “Alright. Alright.” The Japanese woman makes her way over to the bed where Dahyun’s waiting for her, holding the sheets up for her to slip underneath.

Instantly, Dahyun inches her way closer to Sana. They’re not together in that sense of the word, but here, in Sana’s bed, with their legs intertwining and Sana’s arms wrapping around her like second nature, it feels like they’re lovers. But Dahyun’s too far gone to even consider the implications of such a thought, and merely burrows her face into Sana’s next with a contented sigh.

In the morning, they’ll do it all over again. Waking up at ungodly hours of the morning, rushing off to the music show location in order to take five or six takes of the same song only to go to a radio show or some sort of promotion or fan sign after that. There wasn’t hardly enough time in the day to consider everything between her and Sana.

But there was one thing that Dahyun knew for certain in the midst of the jumbled mess of her mind as she listened to the quiet pattern of Sana’s breathing and felt the gentle pulse of Sana’s heart against her own chest. As long as Sana was there with her, by her side, she could do it all.

It didn’t matter if she could hardly bear to move her arms or if she were running on an empty stomach or if she wasn’t sure of where they were going next. If she had Sana, she had everything she needed. So in her sleep deprived state, halfway in between a dream, Dahyun decides to say it.

“I love you.”

She holds her breath, counting the passing seconds. When there’s no response after Dahyun gets to seven, she begins to relax again. Her secret was still safe. Yet just as her eyelids began to fall heavy again, Sana presses a brief kiss to her temple.

“I love you, too.”

  
  
  
  


 

 

 


End file.
